A popular South Street restaurant was torn down on Wednesday afternoon following a fire that left the establishment in ruins.

The remains of Bridget Foy’s were in danger of collapsing, authorities said, preventing investigators from getting into the basement to continue their search for a cause.

Neighbors and regulars watched helplessly as the building came down.

“This was our spot, this was our ‘Cheers,'” said Cheryl Henderson. “It’s the family.”

Bridget Foy herself, whose father opened the business in 1978, was at the scene to console regulars and watch the demolition of the family business.

The fire began around 1:15 a.m. and more than 100 firefighters responded to the scene.

They arrived to find heavy smoke in the basement and that smoke could be seen from blocks away.

“I parked my car, was able to look and see smoke coming everywhere,” said cab driver Simon Mrebti.

“There was smoke billowing out all the windows,” said Mike Wagner.

The restaurant closes at 10 p.m. on Tuesdays and was shut down at the time of the fire. Officials tell Action News there was no one inside the restaurant when the fire began.

Firefighters began with an interior attack on the flames but had to pull out of the building because the situation became too dangerous inside.

Crews then worked to contain the flames from spreading to surrounding buildings, but some were still filled with smoke and water.

The fire was placed under control around 4 a.m. but flare-ups continued long afterward.

Passersby were stunned at the damage to this beloved neighborhood staple.

“I’m literally at a loss for words,” said Seember Ityokumbul.

“It’s a place that’s been there, an icon on the corner since God knows how long. To see it like this is pretty bad,” said Sam Paul.

“It’s just a shock. This place has been around for so long, I don’t know what’s going to happen without it,” said Leeanne Andrijischym.Three firefighters were taken to the hospital as a precaution.

The Red Cross is assisting those affected the fire.

Red Paw Relief said two dogs from a nearby groomer’s died due to the fire.

South Street Headhouse District released the following statement on Facebook:

Early this morning a fire ripped through the corner of 2nd & South Street devastating the iconic Bridget Foy’s restaurant and severely damaging Doggie Style Pet Store next door.

Our hearts go out to John, Bernadette, Bridget, Paul and the entire Foy family. Bridget Foy’s has been the cornerstone of South Street for 40 years and a vital part of our colorful and vibrant South Street story – and an important part of Philadelphia’s history. Families from around the city, region and country have come through Foy’s doors to find a wonderfully warm welcome and exceptional hospitality from this beloved family (and their staff). Foy’s is a special tradition for Thanksgiving, Christmas and Easter and so many other special occasions.

Please keep the family and staff in your thoughts – as well as Howard Nelson and staff of Doggie Style, and those displaced in neighboring apartments.

Our sincere thanks for all the first responders and the city’s defenders for their efforts to contain the fire and keep our neighborhood safe.

Please stay tuned for updates about how we can support the Foy’s, Howard at the Pet Store, and anyone else affected.

PHILADELPHIA (CBS) — At the Salvation Army “Expect Change” awards at the Army’s Kroc Center in Camden, people and businesses were recognized for their impact on the community. The crowd also got a pep talk on life and sports from a key player in the 76ers front office.

Philadelphia 76ers CEO Scott O’Neil, who gave the keynote address, talked about why the club loves Camden, where it has a state of the art practice facility, and shared insights on Coach Brett Brown, which might prove useful to those of us not on his roster.

“He had the letters W-M-I written on the top of all of his notepads and all of the white boards all over the place,” O’Neill said.

The crowd wondered…

“Does anybody have any idea [what those letters stand for]? I didn’t either for about a year, I was staring at it,” O’Neill said. “What’s Most Important. Isn’t that great?”

For O’Neil, it’s family and faith.

“And I would invite you in the next week or so to focus on what’s most important,” he said. “Then, ask yourself, ‘am I spending time on what’s most important?’”

Then, to the delight of everyone, O’Neil turned to the young 76ers – average age 21 – and its emerging goal to make the playoffs this year.

“We always start with character and good teammates,” he said. “It certainly helps to be 7’2″ 280. We have one of those named Joel Embiid.”

DALLAS (AP) — The NAACP is warning African-Americans that if they fly on American Airlines they could be subject to discrimination or even unsafe conditions.

American’s CEO said Wednesday that he was disappointed by the announcement and that American wants to discuss the matter with the civil rights group.

The NAACP said that for several months it has watched a pattern of disturbing incidents reported by African-American passengers. Among them were separate cases in which an NAACP official and another civil rights activist were kicked off flights.

In an interview with The Associated Press, new NAACP President Derrick Johnson said they are not boycotting American Airlines, but the sheer numbers of events made them feel like they had to issue a warning.

“We’re not telling people not to fly on American,” he said. “We’re just saying to individuals that here is an advisory note. We have picked up a pattern of a certain behavior of this corporation and until further notice be on alert.”

American Airlines issued a statement saying that it serves customers of all backgrounds and itself has a diverse group of employees.

In a memo to employees, CEO Doug Parker said American endorses the NAACP’s mission statement against racial discrimination.

“We do not and will not tolerate discrimination of any kind,” Parker wrote. “We have reached out to the NAACP and are eager to meet with them to listen to their issues and concerns.”

The NAACP highlighted four recent incidents in which African-American passengers said they were treated in a discriminatory way.

One involved the head of the North Carolina NAACP, the Rev. William Barber, who sued American after being removed from a flight last year. Barber said police were called and removed him from the plane after he asked a flight attendant to tell a white passenger behind him to quiet down.

Barber accused the other passenger of making a comment about having a problem with “those people.”

An incident last week involved Tamika Mallory, an organizer of the Women’s March on Washington in January. Mallory had changed her seat at an airport kiosk, only to be told at the gate that the seat had been assigned to another customer.

Mallory said she was treated disrespectfully by the gate agent — another African-American woman — and was outraged when a white male pilot asked if she could control herself while on the flight.

After being told she was being kicked off the plane, Mallory called the pilot a racist in a profanity-laced exchange. She took a later flight home to New York on American, then held a press conference two days later and threatened to take legal action against the airline.

The NAACP called its warning a travel advisory, similar to the one it issued against Missouri in August after citing reports that African-Americans were more likely than whites to be stopped by law enforcement officers there, as well as other current and past racial issues in the state.

Johnson would not say whether his organization would issue more warnings in the future.

“Our goal is to advise or warn people when we identify a pattern,” Johnson said. “It is not based on an individual incident. It is truly based on what the potential is when you have a state like Missouri that created public policy that we see as adverse to African-Americans or companies that create an atmosphere that could be adverse.”

The group’s advisory against American comes on top of several complaints of racial discrimination lodged against airlines in recent years, particularly by Muslims, some of whom have said they were booted off flights just because other passengers felt uncomfortable around them.

Last year, a college student said he was kicked off a Southwest Airlines flight and subjected to additional questioning by security officers after another passenger overheard him speaking in Arabic before takeoff. Last month, an art instructor forcibly removed from another Southwest flight said she was targeted because she is Muslim; the airline said she had claimed a life-threatening allergy to two dogs that were on the plane, but it quickly apologized for the way the situation was handled.

Airline officials are uncomfortable discussing complaints of bias, even when they believe they are unfounded. American took its time before issuing a cautious, restrained response to the NAACP charge.

Bruce Rubin, a Miami public relations professional experienced in crisis reaction, praised American’s response, including the invitation to NAACP leadership to talk. He said it was wiser than being confrontational.

The goal is “to tamp down the story instead of feeding it,” Rubin said. “There aren’t very many options when the race card gets tossed at you.”

American, based in Fort Worth, Texas, is the world’s largest airline. The NAACP describes itself as the nation’s oldest and largest nonpartisan civil rights organization.

Philadelphia lawmakers are celebrating a bill aimed at cracking down on so-called “Stop and Go” establishments.

The bill now headed to the desk of Governor Tom Wolf gives the Liquor Control Board more power to crack down on the corner stores that sell alcohol.

The businesses have liquor licenses but often violate code when it comes to seating, food sales, and health licenses.

The “Stop and Go” legislation would allow the LCB to immediately suspend licenses if stores are found to be in violation.

“This has not just happened overnight, it’s been a problem for a long time. Many members have worked on this, and we’re just glad to get something to the governor that will solve this quality of life issue,” said Rep. Jordan Harris (D-Phila.)

The board would also be able to take action from reports by law enforcement or health officials.

Don’t want Amazon boxes sitting on the porch? The company hopes you’ll let a stranger inside to drop them off.

Amazon said Wednesday it’ll launch a service called Amazon Key next month that will let people allow the door to be unlocked when they’re not there so packages can be left inside.

The proposal drew plenty of humorous reactions on social media, as well as concerns about safety or delivery employees being mistaken for intruders. Amazon said the drivers would be well-vetted, while one expert said the company has built up trust with customers and younger customers were more likely to try it out.

RELATED: #Phillydelivers: Philadelphia makes final push for Amazon HQ

An in-home delivery program also falls in line with Amazon’s strategy of trying to make shopping with it so convenient that consumers don’t think about buying elsewhere. And with the option requiring a specific camera that it sells, the move helps Amazon tie customers even closer to its gadgets as well as the items it delivers.

Customers who want to use the service would need to be Amazon Prime members and would have to buy a camera and a Wi-Fi-connected lock from the Seattle-based company that starts at $250. Shoppers will then be able to choose in-home delivery as an option in the Amazon app.

When the delivery person shows up, they will knock first and scan the package. Amazon will make sure the person is at the right home and unlock the door. No codes or keys are needed, and the indoor camera will record the in-home delivery. The Amazon Cloud Cam also lets users watch a livestream or recorded video on Amazon’s Fire tablet, Fire TV or its voice-activated Echo devices that have a video screen.

The service is likely to be more of a hit with younger families, said Timothy Carone, an associate teaching professor at University of Notre Dame’s Mendoza College of Business. He said millennials are already comfortable posting photos and their whereabouts on Facebook, Instagram and other social media.

Walmart is testing a similar service in California’s Silicon Valley, which lets delivery people drop off packages or stock the fridge with groceries bought from Walmart.com. The delivery person is given a one-time code to open the door and Walmart said customers will get an alert on their smartphones when someone enters.

For Amazon, the in-home delivery service helps it enter the fast-growing home security camera market, competing with Google’s Nest cameras, said Martin Garner, a device and internet analyst at CCS Insight. Tying the camera in with the in-home delivery service gives people a reason to buy it, said Garner.

“They’ve been on a mission to do this,” said Garner.

Amazon.com Inc. said in-home delivery will be available Nov. 8 in 37 cities, including Atlanta, Cleveland and Denver. The company says the service is covered by the Amazon Key Happiness Guarantee, which applies to delivery issues, property damage or theft. And Amazon said the deliveries are carried out by drivers who are vetted with background checks and driving record reviews.

The company said the smart lock can also be used to let in out-of-town guests who want to make themselves at home. And in the coming months, it can be used to grant access to housekeepers to scrub the kitchen or dog walkers to take your furry friend for a walk.

But for package deliveries, you may need to keep your dogs and cats a bit contained: Amazon doesn’t recommend using the in-home delivery service if pets can get to the front door on delivery day.

Michael Jackson will always will be synonymous with Halloween. The late pop star’s music still resonates deeply with fans all over the world and his music videos such as “Thriller” and “Ghost” demonstrate that Jackson had a strong affinity for the scary and spooky in life. On Friday, October 27, Jackson’s fans will be able to hear his music in a brand new way when CBS premieres “Michael Jackson’s Halloween” at 8pm EST. Produced by John Branca and John McClain, the executors of Jackson’s estate, this one hour animated special features some of the King of Pop’s most iconic tracks.

Branca spoke with CBS Local’s DJ Sixsmith about how the project came together, what it was like to work with some of the biggest names in Hollywood and his long professional & personal relationship with Michael Jackson.

DJ Sixsmith: How did this animated special come to life and why did it make sense to do it on CBS?

John Branca: Michael loved Halloween, he was a big fan of it. In a way, Michael was a big kid. If you look at some of his music videos for “Thriller” and “Ghost,” they reflect that. What he did for the California Raisins commercial, he used to like to have fun. Every October, there is a huge interest in Michael and “Thriller.” We thought it was natural and logical to do something that Michael wanted to do. We surveyed the field and picked Hammerhead Productions because they are one of the best animation studios in town. In terms of CBS, we talked to Jack Sussman, who took an immediate interest in the project. CBS is obviously the best network out there. Michael had a long history of doing projects with CBS, so it was a natural combination.

DS: You mentioned how much Michael loved Halloween. What would he think of the final product you guys created?

JB: I think he would’ve loved it and had a lot of fun with it. Michael appears as several characters in the show. He appears as a pumpkin man, as a Halloween cat and as a spider and they perform some of Michael’s great dance moves. He really would’ve liked this.

DS: Lucy Liu, Jim Parsons and Alan Cumming were all part of this project. What was it like working with some of the top talent in Hollywood?

JB: They really were our first choices. Lucy Liu, Jim Parsons and Alan Cumming were all on the list of actors that CBS provided us. We were really fortunate to get them.

DS: You knew Michael for a long time. How would you describe your relationship with him?

JB: I met Michael in January of 1980 after “Off the Wall” had just been released. We worked on “Thriller” together, “Bad”, “History” and a number of his albums and tours. Michael was a perfectionist. We all know what a genius he was and a great entertainer he was. Not everyone knows what a perfectionist he was. He worked very hard to get the results that he got and for that we all really respected him.

DS: Michael’s music is still synonymous with Halloween. How did you guys incorporate his music into this animated special?

JB: We hired Kevin Antunes to put the soundtrack together. Kevin worked with us on the two Michael Jackson Cirque Du Solei shows in Las Vegas and on Michael Jackson: The Immortal World Tour. Kevin has been a Michael Jackson fan all of his life and he has also been a musical director for Madonna. The show uses over 25 songs of Michael’s and they’re woven throughout the show and help to tell the story. If all you wanted to do is listen to the music, I think you’d really enjoy the show.

DS: When people watch this special, what do you want them to walk away thinking?

JB: I want them to walk away with a smile on their face. It’s fun. We were all just trying to have fun with this project and celebrate Michael and Halloween. There’s a lot of double entendres in this show, so it’s good for kids and good for adults.

DS: When you think about Michael’s legacy and his career, why do you think his music is still relevant?

JB: Michael was universal. He’s one of the few artists that you can say is popular in every country in the world. His music is timeless. It’s been influential to subsequent generations and current artists. Really, all the top artists today look to Michael for inspiration. New generations are continuing to discover him. We find that kids enjoy Michael’s music just as much as adults do. I think his videos are part of that as well.

“Michael Jackson’s Halloween” premieres this Friday, October 27 at 8pm EST on CBS.

THURSDAY: An upper level trough (very chilly air) will come through during the day meaning lots of clouds and even the threat of a sprinkle. Highs will struggle to reach 60 with a northwest wind around 10-20mph. You will definitely feel a chill in the air.

FRIDAY AND SATURDAY: The trough will have lifted out and high pressure will be building off the southeastern U.S. meaning a 2 day return to sunshine and warming temps. Friday’s high will reach 65 with Saturday up to a very pleasant 72.

SUNDAY: A cold front will be working eastward and this will link up with a northward progressing tropical low that has origins all the way down in the Caribbean. What this means for us is a soaking rain for much of the day. Preliminary rainfall totals are 1 to 3 inches. If the low tracks just offshore we see closer to the 1″, but if that low passes right over us we could be looking a real soaking of 3″ or more and the possibility of some localized flooding on streets and low lying areas. If you are heading to the eagles, bundle up and bring rain gear. Highs at 66.

MONDAY: Clouds hang tough, with some breaks of sun. It’s brisk, cool, and very windy. Gusts could reach speeds of 40mph. A high of only 55.

TUESDAY (HALLOWEEN): Sunshine returns, but it’s a cool and somewhat brisk day with a high of just 61. We may still be in the upper 40s and low 50s for morning Halloween parades in school parking lots. Most areas will be in the 50s for trick or treating with a slide into the upper 40s in some suburbs later in the evening.

PHILADELPHIA (CBS) — The Museum of the American Revolution in Philadelphia’s historic district has been given a rare artifact that belonged to two revolutionary war officers.

Jonathan Pettibone was a colonel heading the 18th (Connecticut) Regiment which fought in battles for New York in 1776. His sword, a silver hilted American smallsword, was donated to the Museum of the American Revolution by Owen Williams, a descendant of Col. Pettibone.

“It is my great privilege to donate the sword to the Museum of the American Revolution,” Williams said.

(credit: John McDevitt)

Williams says he use to play with the sword as a kid.

“As a normal little boy playing war and so forth, this was a natural implement,” he said. “I’m a little ashamed realizing what could have happened, but all is well.”

The weapon is both inscribed by its original owner and the maker, American silversmith Joseph Copp.

After Pettibone’s death during the war, the sword was willed to his son, Jonathan Pettibone, Jr. He was a lieutenant in the war.

The sword, which was never on display before, will be on exhibit in the beginning of next year.